There was not much chance of being overwhelmed by migrants this week. Those that did arrive trickled in to give us a decent variety but the dam will surely break with the first warm day. There were 2 Great Egrets in the marsh east of Westbrook last Friday and a Sandhill Crane was at Elginburg yesterday. Little Gulls have been found amongst flocks of Bonaparte's; 2 at Sandhurst on the 17th and another on Amherst Island on the 18th. That same day on Amherst there was a Ruddy Duck and a Black Tern. Two Red-shouldered Hawk surveys have been completed north of the city. The first, along the Opinicon Road last Friday, tallied 26 and the second on the Canoe Lake Road on Tuesday, counted 23. Other raptors of note included a Broad-winged Hawk near Verona on the 15th, a Cooper's Hawk and a Merlin at Bedford Mills on the 17th and a pair of Peregrine Falcons over Queen's yesterday. Passerines moving through included Winter Wrens, Brown Creepers, both kinglets, Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrasher, E. Towhee, Purple Finch and Fox, Field, White-throated and Swamp Sparrows. A White-Crowned Sparrow was near Bellrock on Tuesday and last Sunday both Evening and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were seen near Verona. Pine Siskins are still numerous at niger seed feeders but the last local redpoll was at Camden East on Tuesday. A very few warblers are coming through. On the Canoe Lake Road on Tuesday, a Pine Warbler and both Northern and Louisiana Waterthrushes and at the start of the Rideau Trail there was a single Yellow-rumped yesterday. Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists 613 378-6605 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
